Heavy winds are expected to continue through Tuesday afternoon in the Santa Clarita Valley, weather officials said Monday afternoon, adding that Los Angeles County remains in a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) until Tuesday evening.
According to David Gomberg, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, due to the winds and the extremely low humidity, they’re looking at a high-end red flag emergency.
“There’s the high likelihood of damaging wind gusts of 60 miles an hour or greater,” Gomberg said. “Along with that, we have extreme fire danger in that area and the adjacent areas near there, as well.”
Gomberg added that Monday night and Tuesday will likely bring single-digit relative humidity. That, in addition to extremely dry vegetation due to the lack of rainfall, is concerning.
In an advisory that the National Weather Service issued a little later Monday, winds were expected to reach 50 to 100 mph, producing extreme fire conditions, including downed trees, power outages and dangerous driving conditions.
Additionally, the Department of Public Health issued a Windblown Dust and Ash Advisory for Monday until Tuesday at 10 p.m. Gusty winds, a release from the department read, may disperse ash from recent fire burn scars and generate dust, potentially impacting air quality throughout L.A. County.
Public Health officials advised that people near recently burned areas remain inside or wear a mask if going outside. The department posted a complete list of precautions to take during the dust and ash advisory. For that list, go to bit.ly/3WqWMJ2.
Gomberg said that he did see a 30% to 40% chance of rain over the weekend.
“It’s still a little bit uncertain right now as far as how much we’ll actually get out of that due to the placement of this low-pressure system dropping down from the north,” he said, “but there’s at least a potential of a little bit of rain to come through.”
